16 Haitians dead after boat capsizes

A boat loaded with Haitian migrants capsized early Friday, leaving at least 16 dead and about 60 missing, authorities said.

Some of the bodies bore wounds from shark bites.

The Turks & Caicos government said 78 people were rescued. About 160 were believed to have been aboard.

A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter spotted survivors clinging to the hull of their overturned vessel, said Petty Officer 3rd Class Barry Bena. The helicopter crew guided a boat to them. A Coast Guard cutter and a C-130 plane also were aiding in the search.

Speaking through an interpreter, one of the survivors said the migrants were on a two-day journey from the northern Haitian town of Cap-Haitien to the Turks & Caicos when the overloaded boat was rocked by choppy waters off the coast.

Some passengers panicked when lightning crackled overhead, and they caused the vessel to capsize, Wilke Pierre, 52, said.

“I lost one of my two daughters that made the trip with me. I wanted to save her, but I could not because everyone was excited and was screaming,” he said.

The Coast Guard said the migrant vessel capsized while being towed by a Turks & Caicos police boat, but local authorities said the police boat arrived after the accident.

Home Affairs Minister Galmo Williams said he was awaiting a full report from Turks & Caicos police.

Health Minister Lillian Boyce called on human trafficking rings to stop imperiling lives. “I am asking all of you in the Turks & Caicos who are part of this illegal activity to please stop. Put an end to it,” Boyce said.

Survivors were taken to a detention center on Providenciales, the island that is the Turks & Caicos urban center, and will be sent back to Haiti. The submerged boat was towed to shore.

Providenciales has a sizable community of illegal Haitian immigrants, and it was not immediately clear whether those aboard the boat were headed there or to the United States -- the more common destination.

This year, the Coast Guard has intercepted 909 Haitians, compared with 769 in all of 2006 and 1,828 in 2005. In 2004, a year of unrest in Haiti, 3,078 were caught.